Lucknow: In a huge setback to the Samajwadi party in the midst of Assembly polls, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered registration of FIR against the Transport Minister of Uttar Pradesh Gayatri Prasad Prajapathi in an alleged rape and sexual harassment case by a 35-year-old woman. He is fighting the Assembly polls from Amethi constituency.

Giving this direction a Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and R.K. Agrawal asked the State to file a status report in eight weeks. The Bench told the UP counsel “You should first register FIR. Just because he is an influential person you are not registering FIR. You register FIR, investigate and if there is nothing file a closure report. But you can’t say you will not register FIR.”

The Bench passed this on a petition from the woman, who alleged that the minister promised her a post in the SP party and raped her when she met him three years ago. She also alleged that the Minister took some obscene photos and threatened that they would be made public and repeatedly raped her. She also alleged that the minister molested her teenaged daughter but Police refused to register FIR.